Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Quotes of the Morning: Two-Faced

“The president directed everybody in the White House to cooperate fully with the special counsel […] The White House has been cooperating fully with the special counsel, and we will continue to do so.” -White House Spokesman Scott McClellan, October 31, 2005 “Of course, Scooter Libby was just indicted for obstruction of justice, so maybe cooperating just a little more fully would be a good idea..” -Skippy

“No one would ruminate on the record about Libby's motives, but there is speculation that perhaps Libby is falling on his sword to protect Cheney, not only his boss, but also a personal friend. The two ride into work together in Cheney's motorcade most mornings. Although Libby testified otherwise under oath, his own notes indicate that it was Cheney who first told him that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA. What is not known is whether Cheney was aware of -- or sanctioned -- Libby's effort to discredit Wilson and his wife.” -Washington Post, October 30, 2005

“The White House on Monday rebuffed calls for a staff shakeup, the firing of Karl Rove and an apology by President Bush for the role of senior administration officials in the unmasking of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Three days after the indictment and resignation of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, the administration said it would have to remain silent as long as there was an investigation of the leak and legal proceeding under way. Bush ignored reporters' questions during an Oval Office meeting with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.” -Associated Press, October 31, 2005 “They do not ‘have to’ remain silent. They choose to. There is no legal requirement.” -Skippy

“No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than the President of the United States. If someone leaked classified information, the President wants to know. If someone in this administration leaked classified information, they will no longer be a part of this administration, because that's not the way this White House operates.” -White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, October 7, 2003 “Please note. The President stated that he would get rid of anyone involved in leaking information. Scooter leaked information. Rove leaked information. There is no doubt about either of those statements. The fact that Rove was not indicted seems to revolve around his cooperation and around a lack of evidence regarding his intent. The fact that he leaked information is undeniable. Neither was fired. Scooter (who it has been known was one of the leakers for a number of weeks) was allowed to resign, and only after indictments were brought. Rove still has his job. That is how this White House operates. The President is a liar. Look at the scenario. Bush states that any leakers should come forward so that we can get to the bottom of this back in 2003. There are two scenarios. In one, Rove and Libby tell him that they were involved. In that case Dubya is a liar for covering that up for several years from the prosecutor. In the other scenario they did not tell him. In that case they were lying to the President, and should therefore have been fired as soon as that came out several months ago. If anyone can think of a third option I’m willing to listen, but so far I seem to be able to choices that include lying and incompetence.” -Skippy

“If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business.” -George ‘Dubya’ Bush, September 30, 2003